Can High Blood Pressure Cause Congestive Heart Failure?

High blood pressure is a silent disease and a silent killer. It is a silent killer because by the time many people are aware they have high blood pressure, there is organ damage. High blood pressure can cause congestive heart failure. High blood pressure or hypertension is the force of the blood against the arteries.

Therefore, whenever blood travels through the heart and you have high blood pressure, the force of the blood creates damage to the heart. Especially the left ventricle. When the left ventricle is repeatedly damaged over time, the left ventricle of the heart muscle gets “ weak”. Congestive heart failure is when the left ventricle has an EF or ejection fracture of less than 40. When the muscle of the heart gets weak, the ventricle can no longer pump blood throughout the body. The blood also carries oxygen. This is why patients with congestive heart failure experiences shortness of breath and swelling of the extremities.